{"id":39408,"date":"2018-10-20T07:09:07","date_gmt":"2018-10-20T12:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=39408"},"modified":"2018-10-20T07:09:07","modified_gmt":"2018-10-20T12:09:07","slug":"putin-lays-down-the-law-at-valdai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=39408","title":{"rendered":"Putin Lays Down the Law at Valdai"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Putin Lays Down the Law at Valdai<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/header>\n
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Every year Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the Valdai Economic Forum.\u00a0 And each year his talk is important.\u00a0 Putin isn\u2019t one to mince words on important issues.<\/p>\n

With tensions between Russia and the West reaching Cold War levels, Valdai represented the first time we\u2019ve heard Putin speak in a long-form discussion since Helsinki and the events thereafter \u2014 IL-20, Khashoggi, etc.<\/p>\n

So, this talk is worth everyone\u2019s time.\u00a0 And when I say everyone\u2019s I mean every single person who could be affected by the breakdown of the U.S. political system and how that spills over onto Russia\u2019s shores.<\/p>\n

In other words, pretty much everyone on the planet.<\/p>\n

Because what Putin did at Valdai was to lay down the new rules of conduct in geopolitical affairs.\u00a0 He put the U.S. and European oligarchs I call The Davos Crowd<\/em> on notice.<\/p>\n

There is a limit to your provocations and attempts to undermine Russia.\u00a0 So don\u2019t cross that line.<\/p>\n

Peace Through Strength<\/strong><\/p>\n

The big quote from his talk is the one everyone is focusing on, and rightly so, Russia\u2019s policy about using nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not that Putin\u2019s stance was any different than in the past. Russia will strike back at an aggressor under any circumstance where the future of Russia is at stake.\u00a0 It was his assurance that in doing so 1) it would be just and righteous \u201cdying like martyrs\u201d and 2) so swift and brutal the aggressors would \u201cdie like dogs\u201d bereft of the chance to ask for salvation.<\/p>\n